Paravento
piazza nostra was present at the Locarno Film Festival 2025 with a small exhibition at the Teatro Paravento.
About the project
The Locarno Film Festival (LFF) will celebrate its 80th anniversary in 2026. Throughout these many years, the festival has influenced the region of Locarno, the film world and the lives of countless people. The converse is also true: all of these people in turn helped shape the festival and make it the great event that it is today.
piazza nostra was born of the wish to contribute to the history of Switzerland’s oldest film festival and add new perspectives to it. The project collects the voices of contemporary witnesses – people who have been nearly absent from the public archives up till now – and gives them a platform.
Telephone Box
During the 2025 Film Festival, there was an old telephone booth set up at the festival grounds in Locarno. It acted as a little recording studio where people could easily and anonymously share their anecdotes, memories, and stories.
Cinémathèque suisse
All recordings will be archived in the Cinémathèque suisse in Lausanne after the end of the project. This ensures that the memories collected are preserved for future generations and remain accessible to the public.
Stay up to date!
To stay informed about piazza nostra, follow the project on Instagram (@piazzanostra) or sign up for the newsletter.
This video provides an initial glimpse into the diverse perspectives on the Locarno Film Festival.
piazza nostra team
piazza nostra is being realised by métraux&Cyril Cordoba. It is part of the University of Fribourg’s project “Challenging the Narratives about the Locarno Film Festival”, which is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation.
Joséphine Métraux
Joséphine Métraux is a historian and the founder of métraux&. She works in the field of knowledge and arts mediation as well as oral and public history.
www.metrauxund.ch
Cyril Cordoba
Cyril Cordoba is a historian. He teaches at the Department of Contemporary History of the University of Fribourg and at UniDistance. His research focuses on the interface of political and cultural history. His postdoctoral thesis on the history of the Locarno Film Festival will be published by Alphil Verlag in 2026.
www.cyrilcordoba.com
Simon Bretscher
Simon Bretscher is a graphic designer and illustrator. His work focuses on citizen science, science communication and social policy.
www.simonbretscher.ch
Nicole Benz
Nicole Benz is a scholar of art and cultural studies. She works in the field of arts mediation and as a musician. She is interested in the connection of various artistic disciplines and the mediation of socially relevant topics.
www.nicolebenz.com
Lucia Leoni
Lucia Leoni is a doctoral student in contemporary history at the University of Fribourg, working on the transnational history of the Alps. Her areas of interest include cultural international relations, Swiss regional history and film history. Lucia Leoni also teaches at UniDistance.